A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

“Then, when the later great Germans arrived, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven—all secular composers—and tried their hands at sacred music, they set Roman Catholic words to music which in form and spirit is Protestant.”
— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

The Latin term is TEMPUSPER ANNUM (“time during the year”). For forty years, we’ve been saying “Ordinary Time.” However, my Latin scholar friends tell me this is, perhaps, not the best translation. From what we can tell, the new ICEL translation also uses the term “Ordinary Time.”

Fr. Samuel Weber uses “Through the Year.” That seems to be better than “Ordinary Time.” The word “ordinary” can, perhaps, have a negative connotation. For instance, your friend may not appreciate it if you say to him, “You’re ordinary!”

One Latin scholar put it this way:

The Latin which people using the Novus Ordo translate as 'ordinary time’ is 'tempus per annum.’ This term is used to designate those Sundays which are not tied to Liturgical Feasts, like Lent, Easter, etc. I admit it may be awkward to translate. But there are many phrases that are best left untranslated, such as e.g. (exempli gratia) or etc. (et cetera). I’ve seen attempts like “ordinal time” and/or “ordered time,” but these are NOT translations of the original Latin. Some things simply cannot be translated well—and when they are, they sound stupid.

Do you readers have any ideas on this subject? Feel free to comment (below).

Speaking of the new ICEL translation of the Roman Missal, here are some free versions of the Glory To God In The Highest you might enjoy:

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